Best Help Desk Software62Software to manage the customer support function which involves responding to user's technical questions. Software prioritizes and routes tickets, tracks status, and provides ticket reporting metrics. Questions and answers can be delivered by telephone, e-mail, phone or, increasingly, social channels. Help desk software also makes it easier for the people running the help desk to quickly find answers to common questions.ConnectWise Manage1https://www.trustradius.com/products/connectwise-manage/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/LL/8s/S8BVNTTIZJUF.PNGZendesk2https://www.trustradius.com/products/zendesk/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/uP/79/M1ENTDBQMJ5X.PNGTeamSupport3https://www.trustradius.com/products/teamsupport/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/39/1p/TTTERX54F4DE.PNGSpiceworks4https://www.trustradius.com/products/spiceworks/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/0l/fc/34XZ7H18O1T7.PNGIntercom5https://www.trustradius.com/products/intercom/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/IM/4V/SDVLX9JS0DOO.PNGJira Service Desk6https://www.trustradius.com/products/jira-service-desk/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/9j/Zc/MIQF5E6L6RBI.PNGOracle Service Cloud7https://www.trustradius.com/products/oracle-service-cloud/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/SB/9f/XXI2BGBPVW7K.JPEGFreshdesk8https://www.trustradius.com/products/freshdesk/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/aA/P4/O750T2T3N4XT.PNGLiveChat9https://www.trustradius.com/products/livechat/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/rs/Px/32G14THMNLFZ.PNGLiveAgent10https://www.trustradius.com/products/liveagent/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/Gr/uQ/I9PBIQE4WBPH.PNGSalesforce Service Cloud11https://www.trustradius.com/products/salesforce-service-cloud/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/vendor-logos/tA/jR/XVG2TM0FRR4B-180x180.PNGDesk.com12https://www.trustradius.com/products/desk-com/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/x1/7M/7WB3BR71X9QK.PNGKayako13https://www.trustradius.com/products/kayako/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/vendor-logos/dk/4D/ESCUVR2CT89X-180x180.JPEGAgiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite14https://www.trustradius.com/products/agiloft-service-desk-suite/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/W6/pH/L5R5TEOWOWEH.JPEGServiceDesk Plus15https://www.trustradius.com/products/servicedesk-plus/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/vendor-logos/Tb/S3/GM6HDTKVEP4R-180x180.PNGRemedyforce16https://www.trustradius.com/products/remedyforce/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/wK/3I/H1TL5B46KZTZ.JPEGHelp Scout17https://www.trustradius.com/products/help-scout/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/xX/pQ/WF6W05V3KQ3Z.PNGParature18https://www.trustradius.com/products/parature/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/lD/yP/VW71SFCXAMTK.JPEGBrand Embassy19https://www.trustradius.com/products/brand-embassy/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/ov/um/RM98SFWIRZ56.PNGLansweeper20https://www.trustradius.com/products/lansweeper/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/4V/zI/VHS3C59T89BV.PNGFront21https://www.trustradius.com/products/front/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/YV/ea/QTJ6K5UPM61D.PNGVtiger22https://www.trustradius.com/products/vtiger/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/bz/Sf/LJL58EG548UQ.PNGGuru23https://www.trustradius.com/products/guru/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/GC/YH/95DLZH5K88E2.PNGosTicket24https://www.trustradius.com/products/osticket/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/product-logos/SA/XK/TZEM2WHCPUQ0.PNGGrooveHQ25https://www.trustradius.com/products/groovehq/reviewshttps://dudodiprj2sv7.cloudfront.net/vendor-logos/8S/fz/586LEI2HFSI8.png

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Help Desk Software Overview

What is Help Desk Software?

Help Desk software organizes and automates customer support processes. Other names for Help Desk software include:

Customer service software

Service desk software

Customer support software

No matter what it’s called, this form of software has the same goal. It creates a single point of contact for users to connect with a company. When customers cannot solve a problem, they can easily reach out for support and for self-help knowledge.

Some help desk solutions offer both self-service and ticketing for support personnel. Others focus on either a knowledge center or a ticketing center.

Most help desk software integrates with live chat software and call center software. (Alternatively, some customer service suites offer these capabilities built-in.) Most will also integrate with related platforms, like a CRM.

Integration makes the software more functional and information more accessible, contributing to a smoother experience for the support agent and for the customer requesting help.

Ticketing System

The ticketing system is the most important part of help desk software. Customers use a portal to create a support ticket. The ticket is then submitted to the right person or department.

With a project management approach, help desk software lets users track, prioritize, and route tickets. This process can be automated or directed manually, often with collaboration across departments.

Multi-channel support uses the same ticketing system across multiple channels. This includes live chat, email, web forms and phone, and may also include social or other channels. The system integrates the progress of a ticket into a single interface, regardless of where the issue originated.

Based on user feedback in reviews, there are certain things to keep in mind. Look for these features as you’re determining whether a ticketing system is right for your use case:

Customer ticket fields

Billing based on support usage

Differentiated support for various accounts

Self Help Knowledge Base

Help desk software often lets teams create self-help resources. This helps customers to answer questions on their own, without submitting a ticket. This is known as a self-help knowledge base.

Sometimes this is in addition to a ticketing system, and sometimes it stands alone. A knowledge base can take different forms, including:

Discussion boards and forums

FAQs

How-to articles

Pop-up tips & recommendations

Customers can often solve their problem using these resources. This means fewer support tickets and more efficient work for support agents. Many help desk tools also include the ability to create an internal knowledge base that can help agents answer questions more quickly and accurately.

Platforms like Zendesk and Desk.com include both self-help and ticketing options. Other tools, like Parature, are point solutions for a self-help knowledge base. Knowledge base point solutions let users create and share self-help knowledge with customers and support agents.

Social Support

Social support integrates your help desk with social media platforms to bring a new level of service to customer support. This integration allows social monitoring, issue tracking, and engagement. Examples of products that enable social support include Freshdesk, Zoho Support and HappyFox.

Social support tools help agents communicate directly on social media. As customers ask questions or share complaints on social media, agents can respond faster and more publicly. Usually, agents can respond to Tweets or Facebook posts within the help desk interface. This helps keep social media support organized alongside other support channels. Even without a ticket, social media communications are an important way to interact with customers.

Help Desk Software Features & Capabilities

Ticket & Case Management

The core of most help desk solutions is the ticketing system. Common features for ticketing and case management include:

Ticket creation - Allows users and agents to enter new support requests.

Ticket response - Allows agents to follow up with customers. This often includes automated responses.

Workflow/Escalation - The ability to route tickets to appropriate support personnel.

Documentation and collaboration - Agents can attach files and notes to tickets, maintaining a record of every interaction.

Service Level Agreement Management

Self Help/Community

Many help desk products support self-help options on top of ticketing. These community resources can take pressure off of agents by facilitating self-service. Features around self-help and community include:

Forum functionality for customer discussion.

A searchable knowledge base.

Public Q&A for the benefit of other customers.

Internal knowledge base to help agents answer support questions.

Surveys and polls, for customers to submit ideas and leave feedback.

Multi-Channel Communication

Most help desk solutions enable communication via multiple channels. Multi-channel features give easier access to support for customers. Multi-channel communication also creates a more convenient platform for agents. Common multi-channel features include:

A customer portal for users to submit tickets and access self-help resources.

Social integration with platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This often includes “social listening” tools for brand activity monitoring and reporting.

Pricing Information

Help desk software is usually priced as per agent per month. This means the price grows the more support agents the organization needs. Vendors typically offer a discount for annual billing. It is also usual to find multiple editions, with price dependent on features.

For the typical subscription model (per agent per month), pricing starts at under $10 for basic features. Subscriptions can run up to $200 per agent per month for a more enterprise level of service.

Some small vendors provide software to other small companies. As a result, some packages are priced differently than normal. These pricing models include a one-time license purchase and a volume-based subscription model.

Some ‘freemium’ packages are available, such as Freshdesk for small businesses. Companies can use basic features for a limited number of agents without paying anything. Then they can add more features or more agents when they grow. These may work well for startups or small companies that just need the essentials.

Help Desk Products

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Listings (1-25 of 92)

ConnectWise Manage calls itself a business management platform for companies that sell, service, and support technology. According to the vendor, the product supports 110,000 users and helps them achieve greater accountability, operational efficiency, and profitability. The platform is cloud-base...

Zendesk is a cloud-based software solution that offers help desk ticketing, issue tracking, and customer service support. It integrates with dozens of content management systems, customer relationship management tools, and web apps. Features include hosted support email-ticket integration, online...

TeamSupport is customer support software built for B2B software and technology companies. The solution offers ticket management, a customer and contact database, reporting and analytics, multi-channel support, built-in collaboration tools, and many native integrations.

Spiceworks offers a set of free tools for IT network management and help desk support ticketing. The inventory management system essentially provides comprehensive device information for asset management. The Spiceworks Network Monitor provides information on observed IT for problem tracking and ...

Intercom is a contextual messaging system from the company of the same name founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco. Central to Intercom is live engagement with customers who visit your site or use your apps via text, chat, or email, or summarily: contextual messages for customer outreach. Bey...

Oracle Service Cloud is the help desk and customer experience management platform from Oracle. The technology was developed and supported by RightNow Technologies as RightNow CX for cloud-based call center automation, until that company's acquisition by Oracle in 2011 for about $1.5 billion.

Freshdesk is a SaaS based customer support software for businesses of all sizes. The vendor's value proposition is that Freshdesk is priced affordably, and is free forever for any number of agents. There are four other plans available that come with a whole lot of features.
The vendor says Fresh...

LiveChat serves as a customer service platform with live chat support, help desk and web analytics functionalities, allowing users to provide 24/7 support to customers. The core feature of the software is its chat tool, where both service and sales team can answer customers' questions in real tim...

LiveAgent is an online live chat and help desk software that’s especially popular with e-commerce businesses at the small and midsize level. In addition to their core live chat application, the vendor also offers ticket management, online self-service portals and change and license management, al...

Salesforce Service Cloud provides companies with a call center-like view that enables them to create and track cases coming in, and automatically route and escalate what’s important. The Salesforce CRM-powered customer portal provides customers the ability to track their own cases, includes a soc...

Desk.com was a helpdesk, ticketing, and customer support product offered by Salesforce. It is no longer sold.
Desk.com collects and organizes all of an organization’s customer conversations (Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, chat) into a prioritized actionable list, and gives business simple tools to eff...

Kayako is a help desk / ticketing product and is available is both SaaS and on-premise configurations. Is is built in PHP and uses my SQL. The product competes with HelpSpot, ZohoSupport, Freshdesk and Zendesk.
The Kayako Engage edition may be deployed as a live chat system without ticketing at ...

Help Scout is help desk software. The vendor’s value proposition is that that their solution reduces time spent on training users because Help Scout is simple to use and set up and scales like any enterprise product. This solution includes multiple mailboxes to support as many email addresses as...

Parature is a self-service customer support platform providing a self-service knowledge base to connect with customers across multiple channels, including email, the web, chat or social media. The company was acquired by Microsoft in January 2014 and will now be part of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM...

Brand Embassy is social customer service software designed to deliver human connections at scale. The vendor aims to help companies with high volume social customer service demand prioritize and automate the right parts of the customer experience to create relationships built on human connections...

Lansweeper is PC and network inventory software that is designed to discover Windows, Linux and Mac machines in an organization’s network. It also inventories network devices such as printers, routers, and switches.

GrooveHQ is a simple help desk platform meant for small businesses and startups. The free version contains a ticketing system for two teammates. The $15 per agent, per month paid plan supports unlimited users, white labeling, integrations, and a workflow system for prioritizing tickets.